Completing advance directives is one way for you to make your wishes known about medical treatment before you need such care.
There are three kinds of advance directives in Texas:
A website with free advanced directives form for the state of Texas, including Medical Power of Attorney, Out of Hospital Do Not Resuscitate, Directive to Physicians, and Declaration of Mental Health Treatment.
Speak with your loved ones. Discuss your thoughts with the people who would be involved in making decisions for you if you aren’t able to make them yourself. This will ensure that care choices support the quality of life you’d like.
Choose one who can make decisions. Which person in your life do you trust to understand what quality of life means to you? Make sure this person is willing to make decisions for you if needed and that he or she knows what’s important to you in your care choices. Don’t assume anything.
Inform your health care provider
Inform your health care provider. Once you have defined your own terms for quality of life and identified someone to carry out your wishes, review all of it with your health care provider. Doing so will inform your doctor about what treatment options you would or wouldn’t want down the road, and allows your doctor to provide medical input and perspective.
Medical Power of Attorney: This form allows you to appoint someone you trust to make health care choices for you if you are unable to do so for yourself.
Living Will: This form allows you to tell people what kind of medical care you would like to have or avoid if you cannot speak for yourself.
Out-of-Hospital Do Not Resuscitate (OOHDNR) Order for Adults: An order signed by a doctor allowing you to refuse life-sustaining treatments when outside the hospital. If you are admitted to the hospital and do not wish to have life-sustaining treatments, let your doctor know so an inpatient DNR order can be signed for the duration of your stay.
